Research Problem

The Florentine Camera, a late 16th century informal academy of Humanist philosophers, musicologists, composers, poets, translators, and musicians could be an unacknowledged beginning of music research-creation. They investigated and applied ancient Greek musical practices to their contemporary music technology to emphasize music’s affectus in the making of a musical form fit for the new Humanism. We find ourselves now overwhelmed by the critiques of liberal capitalist Humanism that the Florentine Camerata celebrated. We are aware that new ways more equitable ways of  making, sharing, and thinking about music must be created. Posthumanism is an alternative to Humanism that emphasizes relations with and across technology, animals, and environments. Posthumanism has many critiques of Humanism, and at its core it offers a relational alternative. Emphasizing creativity over critique this research project seeks to learn about the Florentine Camerata by utilizing its proto-research-creation methods to create a Relational Camerata and a posthumanist 21st century music.